Tesla Motors Inc. has set up shop in Michigan. After filing a lawsuit in federal court in September contesting the state's direct-to-consumer sales ban, the electric-vehicle maker on Thursday, Dec. 1, opened a one-car gallery 20 miles outside of Detroit.

In a decision released Wednesday, the commissioner of Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles reversed a September ruling denying Tesla a dealership license to operate a store in Richmond. It's a victory for Tesla in its ongoing battle with states over dealership franchise laws.

Lapo Elkann, grandson of the late Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli, was arrested and charged in New York with falsely reporting an incident. Media reported that he was suspected of faking his own kidnapping.

Otto, the self-driving truck startup owned by Uber, broke Nevada's autonomous vehicle testing laws, according to a report published by tech website Backchannel. And there's little the state can do about it.

The U.S. Department of Transportation launched a competition to identify proving grounds for the development of self-driving cars, and the new American Center for Mobility in Michigan could be a contender.